*naturally real food

On the goal of living a more natural life, I have been trying to eat out less. The first year Daniel and I were married we ate out all of the time. In September of 2013 we did the 10 Day Real Food Pledge through 100 Days of Real Food by Lisa Leake. Daniel and I did our best and finished without any complications, but staying with it was going to be far too challenging. A few pictures of our meals those 10 days…

 

Since moving back to Indiana we have 95% of our meals each week homemade. I make dinner almost every night and we actually sit at our dinning table without the tv on! I’ve been loving making fish dishes. My favorite meal lately has been Cooking Classy’s Baked Lemon Salmon with Creamy Dill Sauce. But we also have meat/fish as the main entree with a vegetable and starch side. Of course we have our days were we don’t feel like cooking so we get pizza, Taco Bell, or Steak ‘n Shake, mostely because it is cheap.

I’ve started hating eating at large franchises like Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Outback Steakhouse, etc. Actually I can’t remember the last time I ate at those places. I prefer small local restaurants. In California I had a lot more options. There was Euro Cafe, they had the best tuna sandwiches. When Daniel and I craved Mexican food we would go to the Chili Pepper in Orange. They also finished your meal with an apple dessert (pictured below is the fruit place the give you to start the meal on the weekends)!

Being on the west side of Indianapolis we are a little more limited. In Danville, the best place for breakfast is the Bread Basket! You must try their Cinnamon Roll French Toast if you are in the mood for something sweet. Their omelets are excellent as well! For Italian we have Frank’s Place, also in Danville, seems to make everything from fresh! Below is my family eating there on my mom’s birthday!

If you live on the south side of Indianapolis, or don’t mind a little drive, you have to eat at Gray’s Brothers Cafeteria! Come hungry! They make everything fresh daily, even their pies! Beware the line goes out the door! I always get their roast beef with a side of green beans and mac n cheese.

There are a lot of local Indianapolis restaurants I want to try, but I also feel like I can make some of the dishes just as well, for half the cost!

“In the absence of the truth, all of us stand helpless to defend ourselves, our families and our health, which is the greatest gift we have. Robyn O’Brien’s courageous pursuit is an example of how we can all do our parts to protect the health of our families.” ~Erin Brockovich